Autumn Statement

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

In the Humber before the last election, youth unemployment was rising, unemployment was rising, there was no real rail investment—which is hard to say with our accent—there were no significant road improvements and we were becoming worse off compared with the south of England, but now our bridge tolls have been halved and there is massive investment in our flood defences. I thank the Chancellor for his announcements. Will he assure me that our joint bid to him and the Prime Minister will be considered seriously and that the £1 billion funding over the next 15 to 20 years will be considered quickly so that we can get certainty as soon as possible?

[Mr Osborne]

As we said this week, we are giving serious consideration to the bid that my hon. Friend, his colleagues and others in the Humber estuary area put forward for major improvements in flood defences. We are already investing in flood defences this week, which was welcome news, and his proposal is a big and well-argued one to which we are giving serious consideration. As he rightly said, on top of that we have seen major improvements into the Humber and, thanks partly to his campaigning, the Humber bridge tolls came down and traffic has increased.

Consumer Rights Bill

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Tuesday 13th May 2014 Commons Chamber

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue) for all the amendments she has tabled, and for the work she is doing in the industry. She has been trying to clean up the consumer credit market and end the damage that it is doing to many of our constituents. Government Members may laugh at the idea that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting people in our communities, but we see at first hand the way in which consumer credit companies are making a mockery of the idea that we have adequate consumer protection in our country. We believe that the new clauses would go some way towards continuing the conversation.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

I intervene on the hon. Lady because I want to put it on record that no Government Members are laughing about anyone who happens to be in debt. Many of us, along with Opposition Members, have worked very hard to deal with issues relating to personal debt, and we are not laughing at all.

[Stella Creasy]

I am delighted to hear that the hon. Gentleman takes the issue seriously. I assume that he will support the new clauses, which constitute a recognition of the need to act now. [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman talks of 13 years, but the growth of the payday lending and logbook loan industries has exploded as people have found that there is too much month at the end of their money. That has been a fact for the last couple of years. The question for all of us now is this: do we sit and argue about these issues, or do we take action? The Bill gives us an opportunity to take action with some very concrete proposals to end fees for debt management companies, to make the payday lenders pay their way, and to deal with the problem of logbook loans.

Let me simply say this to Government Members. They can either put their money where their mouths are and recognise that these problems need to be dealt with, or they can carp and make political points. It is their call, but I know what my constituents would rather see: support for the new clauses.

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[Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab)]

I rise to support new clause 22 which is an important first step in addressing a private rented sector into which many hundreds of thousands of people who would previously perhaps have been allocated a social housing dwelling have been forced because council houses and housing association properties are currently in short supply. Many of them have to move over and over again: often these are people on very low incomes and they are hit with punitive charges by profiteering rogue letting agents. I say that this is an important first step because it is not just about the charges associated with establishing a tenancy in the first instance.

A letting agency in Derby, Professional Properties, hits people not only with the sorts of charges we are debating, which would be covered by the new clause, but with additional spurious charges when they end their tenancy. I am dealing with one case in particular where a young woman who looked after the property in which she had been living very well was hit with an enormous charge of more than £1,000 for spurious repairs. As a result of my intervention that charge was dropped, but there has been a refusal to allow her to have her deposit back. Those are shameful tactics by letting agents who are exploiting a very vulnerable group in society, and it is incumbent on us in this place to stand up for people who are being exploited in this way.

It is important to acknowledge that the private rented sector does have a role to play, but we want a responsible private rented sector and a responsible letting agents sector. Rents in the private sector have gone through the roof, so there is ample money in this system without these additional charges being heaped on people, who, as I have said, are often on very low incomes. I strongly support new clause 22 as a very important first step to regularising the private rented sector in our country.

[Andrew Percy]

I want to speak primarily to new clause 22, but first let me briefly speak in support of new clause 14. I thought I was the only person who had problems with switching, believing it to be another in the long list of failures in my life, but since I got elected I have realised that there is a massive issue to address so I fully support that provision. I have some sympathy with new clause 13, as I would like to see better labelling, but I am not sure I can support it as drafted.

On new clause 22, I should declare that I do not have any buy-to-let properties—I struggled enough to qualify for one mortgage, so the idea of qualifying for a further mortgage is probably a bit of a joke. Going through the list of other Members who have relevant interests, I noted that an awful lot of them were on the Opposition Benches. I assume that no Labour Members who rent out a property do so through a letting agent that charges fees, because to do so would be to fall foul of a word we are not allowed to say in here.

With this new clause we have a campaign going on. We have student union politics at the moment whereby the Opposition pick an issue and throw it out there in the hope it gets some traction. They do not think it through; there is nothing more to it than that. This time the issue is letting agent fees. It is my belief that they have not spoken to the letting agents or to many of the tenants who have to pay the fees—if they had, they would not be proposing this measure in such a way. I want a sensible debate on this, but we do not get it. As I have said, what we have had is an orchestrated campaign in which Labour opponents, many of whom live in massive houses in particular constituencies, have been told by the Labour party centrally here in London to parrot a particular line. They do not care about it to the extent that they have ever stood up and talked about it before. My Labour opponent, who wrote to me about this, certainly never had a word to say about it before she was told to do so by Labour headquarters in London. That is what is going on here. We are not having a sensible debate about this measure, which hits some of the big cities such as London, or about repeat fees. Labour has taken this scattergun approach in the hope of trying to drum up support for the measure, but what will happen is that rents will go up, because these charges will not disappear; the tenant will have to pay them in some way.

In many houses in my constituency, particularly in Goole which is relatively poor, the landlords do not charge bonds. They say is that if they cannot charge a relatively small fee—the biggest company in my constituency, Goole Property Centre, does not charge repeat fees or fees to people who do not then get a property—they will charge bonds instead. The cost of getting into a property to begin with could double or quadruple in my constituency.

I can tell Members what some of the letting agencies use their fees for. A large number of those who are renting are foreign tenants, and the agencies try to provide somebody who speaks their language and who gives them additional support, often getting them signed up to gas and electricity. They also help out with some of the simple things, which lead to a huge number of letters in my postbag. I am talking about things like bin collections—how to follow the rules—and community cohesion problems, which occur when large numbers of foreign migrants live in homes in multiple occupation. Landlords use their letting fees to subsidise such activity, and that is what will disappear. This is an ill-thought out policy from the Labour party. Let us have a sensible debate about it. The hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) said that it was too early to make a decision, because we need to see what happens with the trial in Scotland. Unfortunately, Labour has decided not to wait, but wants to continue with a student union type approach to try to build something around the cost of living issue. It is a bit pathetic in my view, which is why I will not support this measure until we have a proper and sensible debate.

[Yasmin Qureshi]

I am concerned about the way in which this debate on halal and kosher has been taking place in the country and about some of the things that have been said in the Chamber. At the heart of this debate is a suggestion that somehow the halal and kosher slaughtering processes are more painful for the animal than the stunning process. Some 90% of the meat in this country is stunned, so we are talking about just 10% of meat. I am sure that Members can see behind what the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) is saying. He claims that the whole country is concerned about the issue. As somebody who is virtually a vegetarian, but occasionally will eat meat, I am concerned not just about the rights of animals but about the issue of experimentation on animals, which I speak up about and campaign against. The newspaper that is going on about halal meat does not talk about experimentation on animals, which is real cruelty. We know that it just wants to have a go at one particular group of people. I want to deal with one central question, which seems to be the accepted wisdom of everyone here, and that is whether the kosher and halal method of slaughtering is more painful.

A scientific study was carried out by Professor Schultz and his colleague at Hanover university in Germany. They took one group of animals and followed the halal and kosher slaughtering process, and then took another group and followed the stunning process. They placed electrodes on the animals concerned and monitored the level of pain experienced by the animals. If anyone is squeamish here, they can place their hands over their ears. This is what they said about the halal method:

“The first three seconds from the time of Islamic slaughter as recorded on the EEG did not show any change from the graph before slaughter, thus indicating that the animal did not feel any pain during or immediately after the incision…For the following 3 seconds, the EEG recorded a condition of deep sleep—unconsciousness. This is due to the large quantity of blood gushing out from the body…After the above-mentioned 6 seconds, the EEG recorded zero level, showing no feeling of pain at all…As the brain message…dropped to zero level, the heart was still pounding and the body convulsing”—

at this point, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other organisations might say that the animal is suffering, because it is convulsing, but the reason for that is not pain, but that the blood is leaving the body and the bones in the body structure are convulsing. That is not pain—[Interruption.] I wish hon. Members would listen.

With the stunning method, although the animal appeared to fall unconscious after the stunning, in fact the EEG graph

“showed severe pain immediately after stunning”.

Let us be realistic about stunning. It is not a nice little prick; it is done via an electric shock or sometimes, with some animals, a pistol. We are not talking about a painless death.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

The hon. Gentleman mentions services, but manufacturing has grown by 1.3% in the last quarter and services by 0.9%. Even a Labour MP can work out that 1.3 is higher than 0.9.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

Long before the great recession, the region that it is my privilege to represent was getting poorer relative to the rest of the UK, with youth unemployment rising and private sector jobs shrinking. Now, however, things seem to be on the turn. May we have an assurance that, this time, the recovery will be for all, particularly for the north of England, and that we will finally start to bridge the gap that grew under the Labour party?

Payday Loan Companies

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justin Tomlinson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. If she can just be patient, I will be heaping huge amounts of praise on her shortly.

The second thing I would like to see is real-time credit checking. The industry wants that because, despite a lot of the rumours, it relies on people being able to pay back the money they have borrowed. It would help to avoid somebody going into one shop and 15 minutes later going into another one. The credit checking agencies follow the traditional monthly banking system, so in theory somebody can wreak damage on themselves in the course of a month before the banks catch up. The industry says that it wants real-time credit checking; the credit agencies say they would like to offer it but that it is very complicated. One of the smaller operators, Call Credit, has got 10 operators signed up, but it will not be 100% participation. The Government will therefore have to empower the FCA to demand this. We are getting close to it, and it exists in some forms in America. It will make a huge difference because it will protect people from taking out multi-loans and allow the FCA to enforce affordability checks so that lenders who are lending to people who cannot afford it can be dealt with.

I would like to go one step further in ensuring that people can rebuild their credit rating. When someone has been turned down for a loan by one of the mainstream banks, the payday lending industry is often the only one that is prepared to take the risk with them. If they pay back the loan properly and on time, they should then have their credit rating repaired, allowing them to re-enter mainstream traditional lending.

There is a perception that the products, prices and requirements placed on people pushed them away from mainstream banking into a more modern, innovative industry that was responding to the situation. Mainstream banking has to take a long look at itself to see how it can adapt to a changing world. I fully support the fantastic work that my hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) has done on credit unions as an alternative for people. It might not be the total solution but it is certainly a very important part of the process.

On debt advice, which will be debated tomorrow in Westminster Hall, I fully support the levy, and I think the industry does as well. The Nationwide building society carried out a survey showing that 91% of people who get into financial difficulty say, “If only I had known better.” We see this in our casework. People who have got into difficulty come to see us with their carrier bags of unopened envelopes, and they need face-to-face, patient help. At the point where they go to get one of these loans, it would be helpful to have well-advertised information about how they can access free, independent debt advice, with a freephone telephone number.

Under the licence to operate, it costs lenders about £2,000 to get set up. A particularly bad, unscrupulous lender can wreak all sorts of damage before the FCA, or formerly the OFT, will have had time to do something about them. Unfortunately, some of these operators on the very fringes of the market will take advantage of the potential two-year window to do whatever they want before being taken down, and will then spend more money to get themselves back up the Google search engine listings.

The FCA needs to be extremely proactive in terms of mystery shoppers. Often the consumers who get themselves into the most difficulty are vulnerable people who are least equipped to raise it with us so that we can chase things up. This particularly applies to doorstep lending, as I have said in previous debates. With that lending model, the lender befriends someone, gains their trust, goes into their house every month, and could encourage them to borrow more. They might say over a cup of tea, “Have you sorted out your Christmas presents? If not, don’t worry, because we could provide the money for that, and why don’t you get your carpet sorted out if you’ve got your family coming round—that’s only another £3 a week.” We need to have mystery shoppers to check that the operators are sticking to the rules.

I championed the desire to get financial education on to the statute book, and I am delighted that the Government are implementing that in 2014. As my hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire said, things will now change. This is about equipping the next generation of consumers with the skills to be able to make informed decisions—not moralising on those decisions but enabling them to make the mathematical calculations.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to mention financial education. It is good that we have got that on to the curriculum, and it was a good campaign, but we also need to make sure that it is covered in teacher training. I used to be a teacher, and I would be the last person to give advice on financial literacy, as people will know from my previous speeches. We have to make sure that teachers are trained properly in how to deliver this.

[Justin Tomlinson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on. From his experience as, I am sure, a wonderful teacher, additional training would make a real difference. It is important that the Government tie that in with the national curriculum to be introduced in September.

My hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) was also spot on about adult literacy. We cannot just wait for future generations to filter through; people are making bad decisions now because they simply do not have the capabilities to do anything else.

As a country, we need to encourage a savings culture. I sometimes worry that we all—we are all as bad as each other—want everything tomorrow, but it is sometimes not such a bad thing to wait.

The cost of credit is being looked at, and we are absolutely right to consider the total cost. We should look not just at the crude APR measurement, but at the fees, the cost of roll-overs and things such as bank overdrafts. Some of the charges I have seen equate to about 80,000% APR. The hon. Member for Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue) made some good points about fees and roll-overs, and we should continue to push on those matters.

Finally, we just have to recognise the need to be flexible. The industry will continue to change: when we started to look at limiting roll-overs of loans, it began to extend loans. The market will keep changing, so we have to be quick on our feet.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

This has been an interesting and largely consensual debate. The only comment I bristled at was that by the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Gregg McClymont) linking the rise in living standards to the emergence of the Labour party. As a former history teacher, I thought it had something to do with the industrial revolution as well—next he will be claiming credit for the power shift to the workers after the black death. Apart from that, it has been a generally consensual debate. Regarding solutions, I think we all agree on the general direction of travel and have all been receptive to the Government’s proposals, although some of us would perhaps like them to go a bit further.

I shall focus on some of the reasons for the rise in payday loans and then look at one solution that others have touched on, which is education. Members on both sides of the House have tried to explain the reasons for the explosion in payday lending, but in reality it happened at the same time as a reasonable explosion in living standards, so it is not simply about the economic downturn or people finding themselves in a more difficult position economically; culturally, something deeper is going on.

Members have talked about the “we want things today” culture. My grandparents never had any debt in their entire lives; they saved for everything and they tried to embed that idea in their grandchildren. It failed spectacularly in my case—I listened to them on many things, but clearly not on debt. Something deep has changed in society. As my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) said, we want things immediately—at three o’clock in the morning, if the money is not quite there but someone can click on a payday lending website, that is unfortunately what too many people do.

The high streets in my constituency, particularly in Goole, have seen an explosion in the number of these shops and services. I have to say I bristle when I walk down the high street. The high street should be a place for visiting the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker—there is still one of those not too far from my constituency. That is how we think of our high streets, but regrettably they are today overpopulated with betting shops and payday loan companies. I probably have more complaints in my constituency office about the behaviour of the banks than about individual payday lenders, but that does not mean there is not a problem—we should not mention banks in anybody’s defence.

Obviously there has been an explosion in personal debt, and that is a deeply engrained cultural thing. The solutions spoken about this evening are to be welcomed, but they deal with the symptoms, not the causes. As my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon and others have alluded to, education is key—and not just in schools. I was happy and proud to chair the inquiry by the all-party group on financial education for young people into financial education. We welcome the fact that the Government have taken that report on board—it is a good start—but much more still needs to be done, because far too many people simply do not understand how to handle debt, what it is, how to work out how much they will have to pay or the impact on their life.

I have spoken before about the debt troubles I got into when I was a teenager and in my early 20s, funding my way through university. I bristle when I am told on Twitter, “You’re a millionaire Tory MP who doesn’t understand real life.” That happens too often, but it was not the case with me; I struggled with high levels of debt that I am still dealing with. I am lucky: I am a Member of Parliament with a reasonable salary, and I can get to grips with it. I did not realise at the time, however, that I would be one of those who might struggle—the hon. Member for Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue) talked about this. I did not realise that it had to be paid back and that the interest would be huge. The minimum payments are often less than the interest accrual every month. Until we crack that, we will not get anywhere, whatever caps on lending, roll-over caps or whatever else we introduce. Until we get to the bottom not just of how to work this into the curriculum, but of how to demonstrate the impact of this problem on people’s lives in the longer term, we will not make real progress.

I am still dealing with the debt issues I encountered in getting myself through university. I am lucky, as I said, but others will be condemned by their debt for very many years. This is largely because of the failure to understand that while some debt is good—the Select Committee talks about mortgages, home ownership and so forth, perhaps as necessary evils—much debt is truly evil and life changing for so many people. Until we crack that problem through education, I do not think that any of the other solutions will do a great deal, welcome though they are. Financial education in schools is a good start, but we need to address the adult population if we want to make a real change. We face a great problem with financial illiteracy in our adult population. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) is passionate about that issue and he spoke about it.

I welcome the interesting debate we have had and some of the solutions put forward, but as I have said, without cracking the financial illiteracy that is so evident in this country, I think that everything else will be but a drop in the ocean.

Air Passenger Duty

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

I am afraid the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil) made two incorrect observations at the start of his speech: that he would speak for much less time than the time limit, which was then eight minutes; and, secondly, that he was looking forward to hearing the gripping contribution following his speech. He had obviously not seen the speaking list. I cannot promise that my contribution will be either interesting or gripping, but it will at least be less than eight minutes now.

I congratulate the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, who is not currently in her place, on her contribution. She is new to the role. I was, of course, waiting by my phone at reshuffle time hoping to be offered that post, but it was not to be. She did an excellent job at the Dispatch Box today. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on taking up her new position on the Opposition Front-Bench team, but I will just say that it would be nice if those on the Labour Benches showed a little contrition about how we got into the economic situation we are in when talking about the cost of living, and perhaps took some ownership of the problems they bequeathed to the country in 2010. We are delighted to be dealing with them and we are delighted to go on doing so, but we would sometimes like those who are guilty of having created them in the first place to accept some of the blame.

My view on APD has changed considerably since the fair tax on flying campaign of a few years ago. As there was a lot of terrible economic news at that time, not least to do with our massive deficit, it seemed to me and many other Members that to be asking, effectively, to make holidays less expensive was not the most appropriate thing to do.

My views have changed slightly over time, however. APD can easily be dismissed as a tax that can be avoided, and for some that is true, but for many businesses and individuals—particularly, as we have heard, in certain parts of the country, including Northern Ireland—it is a tax that cannot be avoided.

Since joining the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, I have been growing concerned about the impact APD is having on our regional airports, especially after a meeting with representatives of Continental Airlines, who explained in great detail and depth the impact that it has had on the company. Heathrow will always be successful, but airports such as mine—Humberside airport—and Leeds Bradford, East Midlands and Doncaster airports have struggled, and continue to struggle, to find new routes as it is a lot cheaper to fly from Schiphol or Dublin.

When I was looking to book a holiday recently, I found it would have been cheaper for me to fly from Leeds or Manchester to Dublin and then connect on to the ongoing flight. That is counter-intuitive and, it would seem, a little perverse. Although I am no economist, it is clear to me that that is not good for our economy. It is time that we looked at the issue.

I accept that there is a take of £3 billion from air passenger duty. I have not had a chance to look through the methodology of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report or to analyse that in any great depth, but there is a solution to the problem of how to find £3 billion: it is called leaving the European Union. That might net us a bit more than £3 billion—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] I knew I would get a cheer from hon. Members on the Democratic Unionist Benches, who have a sound view on the subject. I do understand that any reduction in APD would have an impact on the Treasury. That is why it is time for a proper review to establish the extent of that impact.

The hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr Evans) reminded me that, when people made arguments about beer duty in the past, the response from the Treasury was always “This will cost us money. How will we make up the difference?” That has been turned on its head now, as we seem to have accepted that a cut in beer duty can bring in more money.

I remember air passenger duty being presented as a green tax. I know there has been some discussion about whether it is a green tax, a light green tax or a pale green tax. It certainly was presented as a green tax and many people have argued that it is such a tax, so I hope that it will be in the mix in any review, in line with the Prime Minister’s statements today about wanting to review green taxes and being honest about green taxes. It strikes me that we will not have a particularly honest debate with the public about APD or about energy bills unless we are prepared to open up the whole debate about green taxes and their impact not just on energy bills, but on our whole economy.

I represent an area with many carbon-intensive industries. We are still waiting to hear what is going to happen with the assistance for them. Green taxes are having a massive impact on them and an increasing number of people feel that the country is being hamstrung by those taxes. If we can throw APD into that discussion, all the better. People who use regional airports are most affected and in my area incomes are much lower than in other parts of the country, so APD has a disproportionate impact on the poorest parts of the country.

There is much that I agree with in the motion. I will not vote against it, but I have yet to decide whether I will support it. I call on the Minister to pay heed to the sensible comments that have been made by many Members in all parts of the House, particularly the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), whom I congratulate on his speech. It is time for a proper assessment of the impact of APD on our economy and on our citizens, and I hope the Minister will respond in those terms.

Investing in Britain’s Future

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

As I said in my statement, and the hon. Gentleman should welcome this, we will through this announcement be building more homes on average every year than in any year but one under the previous Government. Frankly, he should be ashamed of the fact that the number of affordable homes in this country fell by 420,000 during his party’s time in office—a total disgrace.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

The announcement about the A63 is good news for the sub-regional economy in Humber and for my constituents in Brigg and Goole, and comes on top of other investments which have already been delivered, such as the Humber bridge, the Get Moving Goole project and the A160. We are doing very well on roads, but can I ask the Chief Secretary to continue to listen to representations about the electrification of rail services on the north and south banks of the Humber?

[Danny Alexander]

There has been a strong cross-party campaign on the A63, and I am pleased to have been able to make the announcement today. We will certainly to listen to the hon. Gentleman’s representations on the other subjects he mentions.

Cyprus

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The Treasury and the Government always make contingency plans for many eventualities. It is important to reflect on the statements made by the German Government and by the ECB that the situation in Cyprus is very dissimilar to that prevailing in other countries. It would not be right to draw a parallel between what is happening in Cyprus and the situation that exists elsewhere.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

Many British citizens who move themselves or their assets to Cyprus will have done so believing that going to another EU country offered them some protection. This theft clearly shows what a pup we have been sold on Europe over the years. Will my right hon. Friend take up the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) and ensure that proper advice is offered to British pensioners in other eurozone nations on how they can protect their pensions or return their deposits to this country?

[Greg Clark]

The agreement that was reached at the weekend was an agreement between the Government of Cyprus and the eurozone members. The ECB has said clearly:

“It’s the Cyprus government’s adjustment programme. If Cyprus’ president wants to change something regarding the levy on bank deposits, that’s in his hands. He must just make sure that the financing is intact.”

The Cypriot Parliament will, quite properly, be discussing and debating this matter. It has some influence, and indeed some control, over how these measures are levied.

Autumn Statement

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I suggest the hon. Gentleman wakes up and smells the coffee of the situation that we inherited. We inherited a country that had just been through the biggest recession and banking crisis in modern history. We have dealt with the question about Britain’s credibility and its ability to pay its way in the world. The deficit has gone down, 1.2 million jobs have been created and he should give us some credit for cleaning up the mess that his party created.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

The people of east Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire will welcome the decision to scrap the 13p per gallon planned rise in fuel.

On the £120 million for flood defences, will my right hon. Friend ensure that rural communities can benefit from that, as well as the cities?

[Mr Osborne]

I can absolutely confirm that. We are doing everything we can to support businesses in my hon. Friend’s area and to make sure that all parts of the country benefit from the infrastructure investment that we are making. Having been up to his part of the world, I know that we are making those investments and they are bringing real benefits to the area that he represents.

Humber Economy (Fiscal Support)

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Amess. I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) for securing the debate. As my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) stated, he and I tried to get such a debate, so this is another example of cross-party working.

I apologise for missing the first three minutes of the speech of the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle. He started and ended with Andrew Marvell, which reminded me of walking past Marrell’s statue every day during my schooldays. We did not pay much tribute to him then, because his left hand was broken; it was restored only in 1999. Marvell was important to us, but not enough to have that fixed for a couple of decades.

This is an important debate in which I have a couple of asks of the Minister as well as some words of thanks. I take on board the point of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) about not wanting to talk down the Humber; we all have a responsibility not to talk it down, because this region is not just struggling today. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes, I was born and bred in the Humber. My family has lived on both sides of the river for the past couple of centuries; we do not like to move far. [Interruption.] Nowhere too far anyway. I feel very invested in the region and also very proud of it; it is a fantastic region. None the less, it is a region that has struggled not just in the last two or three years but over the past few decades, due partly to the fall-off of the fishing industry and other industries. People forget that there used to be an awful lot of foundries in Hull. My dad worked in one, but he lost his job when it closed its doors in the early ’90s. There has been a lot of change over the past few decades in the profile of our local economy to which we have not responded particularly well. Even today, we are still faced with many of the challenges that go back a number of decades.

It is important to remember that there are a lot of positives in our region, and some of them are happening as we speak today. I want to be positive about the things that have happened already before making my requests of the Government. The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North mentioned the caravan tax. Sadly, it is a measure of all Governments that they sometimes do things that are not good for our local area; we are not alone in doing that. However, the first thing that our Government did when they came to power was to scrap the ports tax, which would have had a similar effect on our local economy as the caravan tax, and I thank them for that. As a result, 62 businesses in Hull, 59 businesses in Goole and 44 businesses in Immingham have been protected to the tune of about £30 million.

Back in the 1980s, the biggest land grant in the history of this country was given to Hull for the Victoria dock by the Thatcher Government, and of course we had the housing action trust money in the early 1990s. Anyone who was around at the time will remember how that funding was used for the mass regeneration of places such as the North Hull estate. We have done well in the past, and also done well locally. For example, we secured £150 million for the Humber bridge. Again, that was something that had never been delivered before and was due, in part, to the strong cross-party campaign from all of us in the region. The number of vehicles crossing the Humber has now increased significantly. On Saturday, I was in the Brigg tourist information centre, asking the staff about how things were going since the tolls came down. They showed me the postcode list; there were not just the DN postcodes from the south bank but many HU postcodes. The investment is having a real impact on tourism, which the hon. Lady mentioned.

We are also grateful for the infrastructure funding that we have received. The A164 is important for connectivity from the Humber bridge to Beverley. Similarly, the announcement of the funding for the A160 is welcome. I am keen to support work on the A63, which is some miles from my constituency. When an MP who does not have a constituency interest in a project comes and demands the money for it, perhaps their view should carry a little more weight. Infrastructure on to the A63 is key to unlocking the docks, which would have a huge impact on our whole economy. It is odd to argue for a road scheme that is outside one’s constituency, but we do so because we can all see the bigger picture in the Humber. I urge the Government to do everything they can on that road, because it a problem that has plagued the city, the docks and the local economy for a very long time.

We have had terrible news recently with regard to job losses. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes, I pay tribute to Jobcentre Plus and the local councils, which have responded positively to the situation. I met Jobcentre Plus last week to talk about Scunthorpe and Lloyds TSB, and was informed that the majority of people who had lost their jobs there have now found alternative employment, thanks to the hard work not only of those people but of Jobcentre Plus staff.

We are also grateful for the regional growth funding in both east Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. To date, the funding in northern Lincolnshire has created 344 jobs and is well on target to create 500 jobs, and only about half of that money has been allocated. I pay tribute to the councils that have worked so hard on that matter and the businesses that have come forward.

Northern Lincolnshire has had a 68% increase in apprenticeships, and I pay tribute to the council for investing significant resources into creating apprenticeships within its authority and for trying to identify other local businesses to take on apprentices.

I briefly want to echo the concerns that have been raised about renewable energy. I make no bones about my position on onshore wind, which is a huge concern to my constituents, but on offshore wind, there is complete and utter unanimity in our region about its potential and about our support for it. My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes and I recently wrote to the Prime Minister urging some consistency on the matter. I was heartened by the response that we received:

“I will continue to voice my strong commitment to the growth of the low-carbon sector…and agree that Government has to continue to act coherently and consistently to put green growth at the top of its priorities.”

Those are excellent words; we now want action. Offshore wind is hugely important to our region. We can develop the skills base to support that sector, which will help not only our region but UK plc.

I have a couple of asks of the Minister in relation to biofuels and bioethanol production. We have two plants in the Humber; one planned on the south bank and one on the north bank. There is uncertainty over whether the Government are committed to bioethanol. The fact is we must have it in our fuel, and at the moment it is coming from Germany or elsewhere. We should be growing that industry here, so I make a call for as much support as possible.

On biomass, places such as Drax and Eggborough, on the edge of my constituency, have coal-fired power stations that wish to co-fire with biomass. Again, uncertainty exists. I met representatives in Eggborough who were concerned about the subsidy system. They have asked us to raise contracts for difference, which the Minister, I am sure, will be fully apprised of, so I will not give him a great deal more detail—obviously, I am not saying that because I do not fully understand it. None the less, it is something the sector is keen to unlock for co-firing biomass. I will end now because I have had my time.

[Martin Vickers]

Not yet.

[Andrew Percy]

Oh, I am not at the end yet. My hon. Friend is meant to pass me a note when I am.

We are trying to unlock significant European regional development fund money for the Capitol Park project in Goole, which will bring thousands of jobs to the logistics sector in the region. I am heavily involved in that project at the moment, and I seek an assurance from the Minister that, if we do not progress that matter in the next couple of days, he will add his considerable weight to solving some of the issues. The development is really important for our local area.

I end by saying that more needs to be done, especially on broadband delivery UK funding, which is particularly important to many of our small and medium-sized enterprises, and on the A63. Furthermore, we must have certainty on offshore wind and renewable energy for our region.

Fuel Duty

Andrew Percy Excerpts

Monday 12th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I can tell the hon. Gentleman that because of the policies of the Government he supported, there were 12 rises in fuel duty, so it is a lot higher today than it would have been otherwise.

This Government are taking action. Since the coalition came together, our economic plans have won international credibility. We have cut the deficit by a quarter. Because of this, we have secured record low interest rates and opened up Britain for business once again.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

The Opposition’s motion has absolutely no credibility given their record in government, and that is why I certainly will not support it. My hon. Friend is right to point out that the Government have done some good things in this respect. May I send him a message from the people of Brigg and Goole, which is that we welcome what has been done thus far but desperately want this rise to be cancelled or delayed again?

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend makes himself absolutely clear. He has been an avid campaigner on this issue, and his point of view is certainly being taken on board.

These low interest rates have helped hard-working families up and down the country with their cost of living. With interest rates low, mortgage bills are also low. If interest rates rose by just 1%, average mortgage bills would increase by almost £1,000 a year.